I've been working on this for nearly two and a half weeks. I found that I could get about 6 seconds of animation roughed out per night plus some time to smooth out the previous night's work. It's not fast, but I enjoy the results! If people respond well to this, more can be expected in the future! If not, well, I'll probably be less inclined to spend so much time on these sorts of things (roughly 64 hours worth + 20 hours rendering). In between working on this, I did manage to finish Blue or Blonde?" (and the new site header), so it's not necessarily an all or nothing trade for time ;)

Additionally, I had animation ideas for my Twi'lek girls also...

Please take the time to let me know what you think!

Take your pick of video formats (DivX, WMV, and Quicktime). There should be one that works for everyone!

Additionally, registered members can download the video in near-HD (960x720p)! Remember, registration's free!

Thanks everyone for looking, and especially for your comments!

Aside: I was somewhat shocked to see that Renderosity had no Animation gallery...

Mhh well that is certainly something we haven't seen before, although i like it, i can't help but to wonder : how many "normal" renders could you have done with so much time? but don't mind me, i'm just here for extra terestials anyway xD and the more renders you make, the more likely you'll find some Twi'leks now and then :P

I do like Max more than your other "normal" girls though, she is on a close 2nd just after Kaiya (if you consider elf ears normal i guess xD otherwise max would be #1)

01/17/2008 12:04 AM

Giolon
Admin

Join Date: 05/12/2006Comments: 142

Re: Time

In between working on this, I did manage to finish Blue or Blonde?" (and the new site header), so it's not necessarily an all or nothing trade for time ;)

Additionally, I had animation ideas for my Twi'lek girls also...

01/17/2008 12:10 AM

Solaris_Wave
Member

Join Date: 05/22/2006Comments: 187

Great work

That was a really good profile of Max! It was cool to see a rotating view of her and show her off from all angles. Also the movements of her, while understandably limited, were smooth and realistic. I'm very curious to see how you will make the lekku move (if needed) or free flowing fabrics like Daru's slave outfit.

As for whether you want to pursue animation more, that should always be up to you. As long as you feel it is worth the time and effort and that it is something that intrigues you, then you should continue with it. As an art viewer, I would say that pictures give a more rewarding spectacle. That is because it takes less time to get great results. Without having an animation team behind you, you will need to put in more work to get only a minute or so of animation. That said, you did state that you still found time for other things.

So like I said, at the end of the day, it is down to you as to how much input you want for animations. I'd definitely like to see them if you are willing to make them, as long as it doesn't consume the works you already produce (although it is still your call). Ideally, I'd like to see images as the main output with animations as supplementations. You could have animations for each of the girls as if they were complimentary profiles or moments, for instance.

At least, that is, until you have the resources to show Max blazing away with her weapons while dodging gunfire or Oola giving Jabba a roundhouse kick to the face.

01/17/2008 05:17 AM

rixile
Guest

Hmm

Pretty good for animation, just needs to seem less smooth and more quick,besides that pretty cool. By the way what are those cylinder objects on her back?

01/17/2008 06:25 AM

chimera46
Member

Join Date: 05/15/2006Comments: 71

PA PA POWW!!

You know, even though I love her face, I never did appreciate just what a great figure you put on Max until now. That hand wave was a nice touch too, something unexpected.

You did great for your first animation, and there's an animation gallery at 'otica if you can fit it under 1 meg, assuming it's a place you'd ever consider setting up shop.

In terms of future animations, they need not be so long or complex. The net is full of short animated gif screen captures from one source or another, showing just a simple action or expression.

Question: have you ever considered doing a twi'lek version of Max? I think she'd make a totally badass mercenary twi'lek.

01/17/2008 08:40 AM

Giolon
Admin

Join Date: 05/12/2006Comments: 142

Complexity

The camera spin for the first 30 seconds of the video only took about two nights to do. The head actual animation of Max herself is what took so long to get "right" (or nearly so). The goal of this animation was just to see what I could do for a first attempt. It started out with just a blink loop (see the thumbnail). Then some basic head movement. A little more advanced head movement, a smile, and then a wave. I could probably refine my process and decrease production time as I get more experience.

As for a Twi'lek Max, I've been hesitant to use her much in the past because her face is a derivative of a Rianne's. Though lately, especially with the widespread switch to V4, I've been less resistant to the idea of using her for cool things. :)

Re: Cylinders - They're part of the outfit. Official "lore" for them doesn't exist...yet! ;)

01/17/2008 09:44 AM

Darth_Omnis
Guest

Wow

That was AWSOME! I think that this will be a hit. Can't wait to see more!

01/18/2008 05:25 AM

DieKao
Guest

Deal or no deal

"Additionally, I had animation ideas for my Twi'lek girls also..."

DEAL! With that you sold the whole animation thing for me :D

And as others have said, it's your call, if you like doing it do it, heck that's why your doing all this in the first place right? That and the possibility of an alternate Universe where some badass and hot looking actual Twi'leks might see what your doing here and decide to "employ" you Ö_Ö

01/18/2008 05:52 AM

Bonafide
Member

Join Date: 12/10/2006Comments: 31

cool

It is really cool.

How did you make this? Did you need to render each frame in poser then edit them together or is there an animation program you imported Max into?

I am really looking forward to twi'lek animations =).

My only slight criticism is that the neck bending at 00:32 - 00:34 doesnt look natural.

01/18/2008 01:39 PM

Giolon
Admin

Join Date: 05/12/2006Comments: 142

Rendering

Thanks everyone so far for the feedback on all aspecets!

Bonafide: I'll send you an e-mail later tonight to answer those questions. It's a bit long & technical for me to post in a comment here.

01/18/2008 01:50 PM

ExGemini
Guest

Keep it up

Amazing...
I can't wait to see some Twi'lek in motion now! :D

01/21/2008 09:18 AM

hmetal1981
Guest

Nice

Keep it up!

01/22/2008 09:29 PM

illextortion
Guest

When are the twi'leks coming???

Very Impressive, I can't wait to see more some time soon. If not I still think your modeling skills are awesome.

01/23/2008 11:24 PM

rixile
Guest

Cylinders

They could be something similar to the grav stabilizers, machines that will stablize you in your feet if you get knocked from a hard hit!

There is some lore :P

01/24/2008 11:20 AM

KingoftheAT-ATs
Guest

Me like!

In my opinion, you should spend ALL your extra time making animations of all your girls! This is great! I've always been fascinated in CG animations and such, so this I really like! More please! :D Ha! I just saw a commercial as I was typing this with Jessica Alba and she smiled and it looks exactly like Max's smile in the animation!Anyway... but, in the end, of course it's up to you how you spend your time...

01/28/2008 11:17 PM

Darth Assassin
Guest

Heh

She seems to be amazed at the fact that she can move, then returns to being solid. Overall, nice!!!

Also, make those Twi'lek animation ideas real. Many have been dying (hopefully not literally) to see them moving around, explaining why they're in some positions.

01/29/2008 12:54 PM

Master Chief
Guest

Bring on the Twi'leks!

I have you done it once again. You continue to impress me with each new render (and now animation) you put up. And I have to say, its not easy to impress a military man. A enhanced military man. As for the ideas of making Twi'lek animations, I got just three words to say: LOVE THAT IDEA! Please, make some animations of Twi'leks.

01/31/2008 11:02 PM

comenor91
Member

Join Date: 12/05/2007Comments: 1

cooooooooool

pretty cool. wanna see more !

05/24/2008 04:18 AM

genshou
Guest

Wow!

I want to see more moving Max! Yes please! You really should consider moving into the big leagues eventually; you could make a lot of money doing this in the video game industry.

05/25/2008 12:21 PM

Jango_Fett_007
Guest

GREAT!

nice animation. hope to see more:)

06/15/2008 09:01 PM

Arginnon
Guest

Great job!

This animation is fantastic! Very well done, keep it this way!

P. S. Please make one with Daru, if you can. She is my favourite.

10/28/2008 02:01 AM

Anderill
Guest

Nice Hoping for more

its very good .I hope to see more movement and some other clips. I also am hoping for som Twi'lek videos ,Why not with voices?

10/29/2008 06:00 PM

Cultist
Guest

Wow

Wow. That's all I can really say. It would be so nice if more real women looked like her. Absolutely beautiful

11/23/2008 09:22 PM

Red Ice 202
Guest

xD

LOL great I love it really. Love the facial expressions everything.

01/30/2009 08:56 PM

pyroman
Guest

most impressive

nice work really looking foward to the twi'leks
the smille was a little off and the first blink was a little slow but you definitly ftell you were getting the hang of it as you went along at that rate of improvement your next one will probobly be pretty well perfect. Nice job and keep it comin'
<8~ )

02/10/2009 01:49 PM

jgray
Guest

vary nice work

great job cant wait to see it done with some of ur other girls :P o and what is the song thats in the vid?